Re: [bolger] Re: Reply to Susan Alum welding

... It s funny I have been working in machine shops all my life and did not no that grinding aluminum on a grinder could cause it to blow up. I just thought

Message 1 of 22
, Dec 2, 2009

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Pierce Nichols wrote:

>
>
>
> On Tue, Dec 1, 2009 at 7:04 PM, Doug Jackson <svseeker@...
> <mailto:svseeker@...>> wrote:
>
> Aluminum in a word is awesome. And it's doable for a novice (me)
> even down to 1/8" sheet with $1K of MIG equipment. Here are the
> lessons I've been taught:
> http://www.submarineboat.com/welding_aluminum.htm
> <http://www.submarineboat.com/welding_aluminum.htm>
>
>
> And of course you can sell the equipment when you are done building
> the boat -- if you buy used and take care of it, you can probably
> recoup most (if not all) of the money you spend on it.
>
>
> There is a rule about not mixing steel and aluminum tools so you
> don't contaminate the aluminum with steel, but aluminium would
> only gum up a regular grinding wheel. I have an aluminum grinding
> disc, "Flexcel" on an old motor that works great for grinding.
> AirGas sells them for $10 each, but they last a good while.
>
>
> No, it's worse than that. My understanding is that the bits of smeared
> aluminum get down between the grains of s wheel meant for steel and
> that when they heat up again, they can expand enough to fracture the
> wheel. And that's just a bad day. Use the right tools for the job and
> things will go better.
>
> -p
>
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>

It's funny I have been working in machine shops all my life and did not
no that grinding aluminum on a grinder could cause it to blow up. I just
thought you didn't do it because it clogged up the wheel, Never too old
to learn something. It sure makes sense that somebody could get hurt
that way.
Doug

jdmeddock

Aluminum granules + iron oxide granules + heat = Thermite! Maybe an unlikely outcome but one I will now have in the back of my mind every time I use our bench

Message 2 of 22
, Dec 5, 2009

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Aluminum granules + iron oxide granules + heat = Thermite!

Maybe an unlikely outcome but one I will now have in the back of my mind every time I use our bench grinder at work. I am a mechanic and we have one grinder for everything that needs to be ground.

Justin

> It's funny I have been working in machine shops all my life and did not
> no that grinding aluminum on a grinder could cause it to blow up. I just
> thought you didn't do it because it clogged up the wheel, Never too old
> to learn something. It sure makes sense that somebody could get hurt
> that way.
> Doug
>

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